ORP Calls on Cordray to Take Position on Medicare for All

June 14, 2018

National Democrats campaigning for Richard Cordray are shifting their stances to support Bernie Sanders' single payer healthcare plan. One week ago today, Nancy Pelosi said single payer health care should be evaluated if Democrats win the House in November.

“As the Democrat base grows louder in its calls for Medicare for all, Ohio voters deserve to know where Richard Cordray stands,” said Chairman Jane Timken. “Fixing healthcare is a top priority across the country, but significantly raising taxes on Ohio families to pay for the $32 trillion plan that Richard Cordray's closest allies are pushing is not the answer.”

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS SHIFTING TO SUPPORT MEDICARE FOR ALL, WHERE DOES RICHARD CORDRAY STAND?

Last week - Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Says It Should be Evaluated if Democrats Win the House

Pelosi: ‘Medicare for All’ should be evaluated if Dems win House. Last week, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Medicare for all proposals should be evaluated if Democrats win the House, adding that it’s all on the table. Until last week, Pelosi had backed a public option for health insurance, but hadn’t supported going further and setting up government-run, universal health insurance. (Peter Sullivan, “Pelosi: “Medicare for All” Should be evaluated if Dems win House." The Hill, 6/7/18)

Pelosi Says the Affordable Care Act has built-in flexibility. "The 78-year-old Pelosi noted the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2010, has built-in flexibility."We believe in the Affordable Care Act, that it has the structure to take us forward in many different ways," she said. "It was about expanding access, quality, affordable healthcare to many more Americans, over 20 million.” (Jason Devaney, “Pelosi Willing to Explore Medicare for all if Dems Take House,” Newsmax,07/07/18)

One of Cordray’s Biggest Supporters, Elizabeth Warren, is Shifting her Focus to Single-Payer Healthcare

Elizabeth Warren has said “the next step is single-payer. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that opposing the Republican health care bill wasn’t enough, and the Democratic Party should start running on a new national single-payer plan. “Now it’s time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.” (Andrew Breiner, “Warren: The Next Step is Single-Payer.” Roll Call, 6/27/17)

In A June 2017 Interview With The Wall Street Journal, Senator Warren Said Democrats "Would Do Better If They Campaigned On That Progressive Platform [Single Payer] Rather Than Blurring The Lines Between Themselves And Republicans." "Blocking the GOP rollback of provisions in the Affordable Care Act, Ms. Warren said, is not enough. She said Democrats on the ballot in the next two federal elections should back a national single-payer health-care plan. 'President Obama tried to move us forward with health-care coverage by using a conservative model that came from one of the conservative think tanks that had been advanced by a Republican governor in Massachusetts,' she said during an interview in her Senate office last week. 'Now it's time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.' In Lowell, Ms. Warren said there is broad support for raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, forgiving student loan debt and installing tougher federal regulations on the financial services industry. Democrats, she said, would do better if they campaigned on that progressive platform rather than blurring the lines between themselves and Republicans." (Reid Epstein, "Elizabeth Warren Tries To Win Back Voters In Trump Country,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/27/17)

VIDEO: Following Her March 27, 2017 Remarks At The New England Council, Senator Warren Responded To A Question On Whether She Supports A Single Payer System, Saying, "I Think Every Option Needs To Be On The Table, And Single Payer Sure Ought To Be At The Top Of The List." QUESTION: "Can you clarify where you are on the single payer - are you on board now with that? You're having an event with Senator Sanders - it can be misleading." WARREN: "So what? It depends on where we want to go next and what we can do next. If the question is, 'can we make the Affordable Care Act better, and we can find some Republicans colleagues to do that,' then absolutely. We should do what we can to improve it. But I want to be clear. We built a whole health care system in the hopes that it was going to be bipartisan when we built the Affordable Care Act, right? It came out of the Heritage Foundation, it had Republican ideas in it, we built it off of what Mitt Romney had done here in Massachusetts, took amendments from Republicans - how much Republican support did we get for that? None. So if we're talking about tearing down the health care system and starting over, then I think every option needs to be on the table, and single payer sure ought to be at the top of the list." (Elizabeth Warren, Remarks Following Speech at the New England Council, Boston, MA, 3/27/17) Minute 0:08 - 1:03

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, Who Have Both Campaign For Richard Cordray in Ohio, Have Signed On To Senator Sanders' "Medicare For All" Plan, Which Will Likely Cost Trillions Of Dollars

Harris: “It’s just the right thing to do: "Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a star of the Democrats’ 2016 class who’s seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2020, told an audience in Oakland Wednesday that she would co-sponsor the “Medicare for All” bill that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is introducing in September. “It’s just the right thing to do,” Harris said at the end of a town hall meeting, after a standing ovation."(David Weigh, “Sen. Kamala Harris backs Bernie Sander’s single-payer bill.” The Washington Post, 08/31/17)

Senator Warren Suggested Single Payer Would Be The Best Way To Deliver "High Quality, Low Cost Health Care To All Americans." "'I believe it's time to take a step back and ask: what is the best way to deliver high quality, low cost health care to all Americans?' Warren, among those listed as potentially running for president in 2020, said in a statement Thursday." (Rebecca Savransky, "Warren Co-Sponsoring Sanders's 'Medicare For All Bill,’” The Hill, 9/7/17)

During The 2016 Presidential Campaign, Senator Sanders Released His Version Of A Single-Payer Healthcare Plan. "Bernie Sanders released the details of his 'Medicare for all' single-payer health care plan just two hours before the Democratic debate here on Sunday night, escalating the bitter wrangling over health care with Hillary Clinton." (Gabriel Debenedetti, "Sanders, Clinton Clash Over His New 'Medicare For All' Plan, Politico, 1/17/16)

To Pay For This Plan, Senator Sanders' Plan Proposes A 6.2 Percent Increase On The Payroll Tax That Would "Ultimately Be Shifted Back Onto Employees" Thus Lowering Their Wages." "Their employers, however, would pay a payroll tax of 6.2 percent on their earnings. This would ultimately be shifted back onto employees-including low-income employees-in the form of lower wages." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan,” The Urban Institute, 5/16)

The Plan Would Increase Taxes On Income Affecting Low-Income Individuals, Among Others. "The 2.2 percent income surtax on taxable income would also affect many low-income people, but upper-middle-income and high-income individuals would bear most of the brunt of financing this plan through large tax increases." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan,” The Urban Institute, 5/16)

The Sanders Plan Would Increase Income Taxes To More Than 50 Percent Of Earnings For Some Taxpayers, While Limiting Deductions. "The wealthy, meanwhile, would see their income tax rates raised and their deductions limited. Income above $250,000 would be taxed at rates starting at 37% and topping out at 52% for earnings above $10 million." (Dan Merica and Eric Bradner, "Hours Before Debate, Sanders Releases Medicare-For-All Plan,” CNN, 1/17/16)

The Plan Would Also "Hike Estate Taxes" On Certain Inheritances. "The plan would also hike estate taxes on inheritances greater than $3.5 million. The current exemption is $5.45 million." (Dan Merica and Eric Bradner, "Hours Before Debate, Sanders Releases Medicare-For-All Plan,” CNN, 1/17/16)

Senator Sanders' Plan Also Raises The Tax Rates For Capital Gains And Dividends, With A Top Rate At Over 50 Percent. "Taxing capital gains and dividends as ordinary income and tax capital gains at death - Currently, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at a top rate of 20 percent (plus a 3.8 percent surtax). Sen. Sanders would tax this income the same as earned income for households making above $250,000, resulting in a top rate of 52 percent (plus 10 percent in surtaxes, including the effects of his Social Security plan)." ("Analysis Of The Sanders Single-Payer Offsets,” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 2/3/16)

Senator Sanders' Plan Raises Less Than Half Of The Cost For His Health Care Plan, Leaving $16.6 Trillion Of The Cost To Be Financed Some Other Way. "Analysis by the Tax Policy Center indicates that Sanders's revenue proposals, intended to finance all new health and nonhealth spending, would raise $15.3 trillion in revenue over 2017 to 2026. This amount is approximately $16.6 trillion less than the increased federal cost of his health care plan estimated here." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan,” The Urban Institute, 5/16)

Senator Sanders' Proposed Taxes "Appear To Be Too Low To Fully Finance The Plan." "The total $15.3 trillion that would be raised is approximately $16.6 trillion less than the increased federal cost of his health care plan estimated here, suggesting that fully financing the Sanders approach would require additional sources of revenue be identified, that is, the proposed taxes appear to be too low to fully finance the plan." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan,” The Urban Institute, 5/16)

In 2012, When She Ran For U.S. Senate, Warren Changed Her Stance And Did Not Support Single Payer

The Boston Globe's Victoria McGrane: "Warren's Support For The Sanders Bill Is Not A Huge Surprise. … Though She Questioned Its Political Efficacy During Her 2012 Race." "Warren's support for the Sanders bill is not a huge surprise. She has long expressed openness to the idea - though she questioned its political efficacy during her 2012 race. In June, she unequivocally threw her support behind a single payer health care system, telling the Wall Street Journal that Democrats running in 2018 and 2020 should embrace single payer. The Affordable Care Act was one step forward on the path to better health care coverage, she said. 'Now it's time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.'" (Victoria McGrane, "Warren Sanders' Single Payer Health Care Plan,” The Boston Globe, 9/7/17)

VIDEO: In June 2012, Warren Told A Local Television Host That She Did Not Support A Single Payer Health Care System, Saying, "I Think Right Now What We Have To Do … I Think You've Got To Stay With What's Possible." NECN's JIM BRAUDE: "If you were the tsarina, something like single payer health care, government run [unintelligible], far lower administrative costs, that sort of thing, would be the Senator Warren prescription, would it not?" WARREN: "I think right now what we have to do - I'm serious about this - I think you've got to stay with what's possible. And I think what we're doing - and look at the dust-up around this. We really need to consolidate our gains around what we've got on the table." BRAUDE: "But you do support single payer, do you not?" WARREN: "No, what I've got right now …" BRAUDE: "You've wrote repeatedly that you have, have you not?" WARREN: "Oh! I think you need to go back and take a look." BRAUDE: "I have a paragraph: 'The most obvious solution would be universal, single payer health care. Single payer care would also free families from dependents on an employers' plan and make certain that everyone is covered whether or not.' You wrote that with a co-author from Ohio." WARREN: "I wrote that with two. Actually with two I think. That's exactly right. But the point is, what we've got to do, is we've got to keep moving in the direction of getting more families covered and bringing down the costs of health care, and I think we've taken a big step in that direction." (NECN's “Broadside" 6/29/12)

In June 2012, When "Asked For Warren's Views On A Single-Payer System, Campaign Spokeswoman Alethea Harney Said, 'Elizabeth Supports The (Affordable Care Act). The Issue Right Now Is Whether We Keep The Many Benefits Of Health Care Reform.'" "Asked for Warren's views on a single-payer system, campaign spokeswoman Alethea Harney said, 'Elizabeth supports the (Affordable Care Act). The issue right now is whether we keep the many benefits of health care reform. Scott Brown and the Republicans will say anything because they don't want to talk about the fact that they want to repeal all of the benefits of health care reform, including kids staying on their parents' insurance until age 26, the end of lifetime limits, closing the donut hole, and preventive care services.'" (Shira Schoenberg, "Factcheck: Does Elizabeth Warren Support Single-Payer Health Care?” The Republican, 6/29/12)